Retail markets have utilized rigid and flexible plastic containers to protect and display both perishable and fragile food items such as sandwiches, salads and bakery items. These traditional roles of plastic packaging are now the minimum expected standards, and the requirements placed on plastic food packaging continue to expand as increasing demands are placed upon it. Presentation, brand presence, consumer desires, added value to enhance commercial competitiveness, differentiation, imagery and psychology has resulted in the design and application of plastic packaging becoming more challenging. Convenience and versatility continue to shape the future of packaging, with consumers gravitating toward packaged convenience items that minimize the impact on their behavior. This has forced packaging manufacturers to include social and environmental considerations into their development process. The provision of multiple compartments in a variety of shapes and utilities in rigid plastic containers has been one such direction that packaging manufacturers have been pursuing.
Rigid plastic food containers are typically manufactured from Polystyrene, Polypropylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polylactide, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), or other rigid polymers. They generally comprise either of two-parts—a tray and lid—or they may be a one-piece construction with a hinge that modifies one portion of the container to act as the tray and the other connected portion to act as a lid. Furthermore, they are available in a variety of shapes and cross-sections—circular, rectangular, square, and elliptical, etc.
A limitation has been the availability of a single rigid plastic packaging system that incorporates a primary recess and a plurality of secondary conveniently sized recesses that can hold a variety of different foodstuffs and which may be combined with the food in the primary recess in portions desired by the consumer. This invention provides for a unique approach that achieves this objective.